Why Australian Cities Don’t Have Town Squares

***
Unknown Melbourne is a series exploring the weird and wonderful parts of the city.

Related Videos:
***
Read More and Reference:

[zoomosis]

As squares go, Federation Square feels really uninviting. It's on a slope and the buildings that surround it are effectively industrial office blocks in disguise, making it feel very claustrophobic. The western buildings also block important landmarks like the Arts Centre spire and St Pauls Cathedral. The eastern end of the square is effectively blocked off. It also fails as a decent meeting place since there are no instantly-recognisable features within the square. I feel like a lot of these design decisions were/are deliberate, to prevent it from becoming a place where people can protest.

[lisaxlottie]

it's also worth mentioning that even though federation square is technically council owned land, it's managed as a private enterprise, has it's own security and is effectively just company controlled meaning they can remove anyone from the square as they see fit. this means homeless people, protests, street performers (who have already very limited options to perform inside the city) - Federation square's 'public' space is rented out to companies and brands for activations as their first priority over actually serving as a space for the public. it's a business. I find that really sad.

[bigdudeohyeah]

This wasn't the last time that a fear of protests and 'democracy' impacted architecture in Australia either, UTS in Sydney was designed specifically to be hostile to student movements, after the May 68 protests in Paris.

[NoahWizard]

I'm a game designer, trying to learn more about city design so that my in-game towns make sense. But I'm also just trying to learn the basics of how cities and towns work and were established, so that I'm not starting from scratch every time. This video in particular helps me make a clear decision at the start of any city design for a game: did they quash democracy early on, or was there room for the public reserved from the start? I can immediately see how building a town with a public space is going to send the design and narrative choices in one direction, and restricting public places would make for a much more antagonistic space to build off of.

[SigmaSaint]

Brisbane now has also added in a couple of squares. King George Square is a big meeting place in the city and a focal point of events and protests (even if its not that well designed for our climate) we also have Anzac Square, Post Office Square, Reddacliffe Place is kind of a square (the buildings on it are called Brisbane Square) which also hosts a lot of markets and protests as well. The retrofit of squares is something the city has actually done quite well at.

[nicegan]

As an Adelaide native, this video was fascinating and, in my mind at least, really plays into the different origins of South Australia from the other Australian colonies. We were founded without convicts with the express promise of democracy once the population had grown a bit. The Adelaide City Council was holding elections only 4 years after the colony was founded!

[AndoInAus]

I like the extra filming effort you put in for that two seconds of "bubble tea shops"

[Pahwah]

As an open space planner I can testify that we now recognise community space as the most valuable space in any town or city, with our parks being the most visited spaces in our cities. Now community gathering is not a threat to governance but rather a celebration of community.

[turbo.panther]

The main thing I recall about Fed Sq is all the insane trip hazards. Words carved into the paving, steps leaping out randomly. Must have given ankle surgeons a lot of business!!

[lumare]

when I moved from Sydney to Adelaide, the first thing I noticed was Tarndanyangga / Victoria Square...I knew it was a planned city from the layout of the parks and the ring road, but I never knew what I was missing out on until I had a city that had that town square and embraced it culturally - just about every other weekend I drive past it, the square is full of City initiatives and activities.

[Phonixrmf]

Whoa I can't imagine what it would be like if the library still have their fences. The openness of the lawn was an impotant key to the vibe of that area

[cxy]

I like the mention of the default meeting place in Melbourne city organically forming at the station, under the clocks.

Ask anyone from Brisbane the default meeting place in the city, they’ll give you one answer - out front of the Hungry Jacks. (Australia’s Burger King equivalent)

[Adelaide_Transit]

At least in Adelaide the City squares have very much been akin to their European counterparts. They are something we use for day to day life, you commute through them, you go to them because you may need somewhere to eat, we host concerts at them and even protests. I can guarantee every single resident in Adelaide has used the squares for a generic purpose.

[barryjones]

This is what really through me when I came to Australia. I was always looking for a “centre” of a town or high street. I came to realise that the malls are like their centre or equivalent to a high street. It still throws me even now. For me the layout in suburbs can be very empty and quiet with nothing going on.

[schuhey]

Those five squares in Adelaide are EXTREMELY isolated from their surroundings, and almost always being utilised as venues for outdoor events. I have never once been to any of them for anything besides crossing through them, as there is nothing there really.

[footrot]

Lincoln square Melbourne, was originally designed to honor those lost in a Bali bombing. It became an international skateboard hub and community hang out. People would eat their lunch, play with their kids, it was beautiful. No police call outs in 8 years! They ripped up the concrete and the place is dead. Some parents of those lost came with us to council meetings to improve the whole surrounding areas, bob f'ing Doyle just said no.

[thiswaytolife]

I love Melbourne and I would argue that the abundance of parks (especially riverside) and beaches around Port Phillip really make a concrete town square less of a need or want. Besides there's always footy at the Marvel Stadium :)

[Deanritos]

I would love it if Melbourne had a formal City square tho, when I meet up with friends i usually was at the federation square, but it gets claustrophobic sometimes and feels like it could be more open, these decisions of city squares originally were knee jerk reactions with long term repercussions

[AlphaGeekgirl]

You read my mind. In the past three days I have stood in three town squares in three different cities outside of Australia and wondered the same thing!

[Vntilator]

Even small places in Norway with only 30.000 +/- people, it's common with Town Squares that is open for everyone with no restrictions.
I guess it's in the culture that a open space for events etc. is needed.